Zamia maritima (cardboard plant)

Zamia maritima is a cycad, a taxonomic branch that has existed virtually unchanged since the time of the dinosaurs. Its thick, firm leaflets are the reason it is often known as cardboard plant.

The leaf petioles are covered with numerous stiff prickles.

The natural spread of mature plants is about 4 feet tall and 6-8 feet wide, so give them some room in the landscape. Although the leaves can remain on the plant in good condition for several years, each year sees just one flush of new leaves all at once.

On young plants the leaves grow in a rosette around a single growing point, as in the first photo.
As it matures, the plant has a clumping growth habit, and increases in diameter by splitting off new growing points, each with their own rosette of leaves. This is the same plant 5 years later:

The individual plants are either male or female, and can be identified by their blooms, which appear in early summer.

Male plants produce slender, upright, tan/brown cones.

Female plants produce cones that are fatter, and with larger segments.

Male plants produce their cones in large quantities, and male plants also tend to form more offsets.

The seeds develop inside the cone for 7-8 months, then the cone splits open to reveal the bright red, glossy fruits.

The fruits are toxic to dogs. If you are concerned about your pets, plant male specimens, or remove the female cones any time before they split open.

Zamia maritima is native to Mexico, and is recommended for USDA Zones 9-11. It will grow in sun or shade, and also makes a durable houseplant. This species is drought-tolerant, as well as salt-tolerant, and can be used in beach-side plantings.

Propagation is by seed.

Zamia pumila (Coontie)

 Zamia pumila is a great evergreen plant native to Florida and the Bahamas.   It has a nice, soft, fern-like look, although the leaves are actually quite tough.  Zamias are members of the Cycad family which have been flourishing on earth since the time of the dinosaurs!

This species stays under 3 feet in height and makes a low mound a little wider than it is tall.
Zamias are drought-tolerant and will grow in sun or shade.  They are hardy to USDA Zone 8.  The leaves also serve as food for the larvae of the rare Atala butterfly.

Florida's original inhabitants (before the European invasion) used to process the thick trunks into an edible starch that they used like bread flour.

  

Flower cones appear in the fall, with male and female flowers appearing on separate plants. They are wind-pollinated. The female flowers are chunky and club-like:

The male flowers are slender:

It takes about a year for the seeds to mature inside the female cone. After that length of time, the cones split open during the winter months to reveal the spectacular bright orange seeds.

Here you can see a mature cone splitting open to reveal the seeds.  To the upper left of this photo is a brown immature cone ready to be fertilized by pollen floating on the breezes. Plants in close proximity are also pollinated by snout beetles.

In their natural setting, seeds take up to two years to germinate. To speed up the process, you can scrape off the fleshy orange coating, soak the seeds for a day in water, then sow 1/2 inch deep in well-draining soil in full sun. Keep the soil moist with daily watering and you should see new seedlings in as little as 3-4 weeks!

Buy Zamia pumila seeds here